Optimization of the Light Trapping Nano Structures in CdTe Thin Film Solar Cells

Rashwan, Ola; Newill, Andrew; Najan, Nur Khairana Khairu

doi:10.1109/pvsc40753.2019.8980881

Cited by 1 publication

(1 citation statement)

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“…The aim of optical simulation of TCO/CdS on an ultra-thin substrate is to assist in the design, understanding, and optimization of new bendable thin film designs, resulting in a strong prediction on light absorption/transmission and limits in flexible thin film structure for efficient light management in CdTe solar cell. Several reports on simulation platforms for optical analysis like MATLAB [35], unconstrained formulation of the nonlinear modeling (PUMA) [36] and Modeling of Transfer Matrix (MTM) [29], Thin Film Calculation software (TfCalc) [37], Film wizard [38], OPAL2 [35], and Ray tracing [39] or sunray software [40] are available, which have mostly focused on silicon cell designs. This research reports for the first time the use of OPAL2 software to obtain an optimal estimate of the materials utilized, favourable thickness of frontal layers, and an electro-optically efficient CdTe thin film solar cell in superstrate configuration.…”

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confidence: 99%

Optical Losses of Frontal Layers in Superstrate CdS/CdTe Solar Cells Using OPAL2

2021

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In this paper, optical losses in CdS/CdTe solar cells are calculated on the basis of the designated reflective index of various frontal layers using an OPAL2 calculator for the first time. Two types of glass (0.1 mm ultra-thin Schott and 1.1 mm standard borosilicate glass) were assumed to be coated by different Transparent-Conducting-Oxides (TCOs) such as SnO2:F, ZnO:Al, and ITO forming frontal layers for CdS/CdTe solar cells in superstrate configuration. Absorption, reflectance, transmittance, and consequently optical bandgap energies are calculated as a function of common thicknesses, used in the literature. The results show that an increase in TCO thickness led to a decrease in optical band gap as well as an enhancement in contact potential difference, which can deteriorate device performance. The optimum thickness of 100 nm for SnO2:F was calculated, while 200 nm for ZnO:Al and ITO show reasonable optical losses caused by reflections at the interfaces’ and the layer’s absorption. It is seen that 80 to 150 nm CdS on ITO might be an effective range to satisfy a high short circuit current and low defect densities at the CdS/CdTe interface. Finally, a minimum 2 μm thickness for the CdTe on the ultra-thin Schott glass coated by optimum layers can result in the highest short circuit current of 28.69 mA/cm2. This work offers a practical equivalent strategy to be applied for any superstrate solar cells containing TCO and CdS frontal layers.

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